Exhibitors

Rod Swoboda

Editor Emeritus, Wallaces Farmer

Raised on a farm in Illinois, Rod Swoboda is a University of Illinois College of Agriculture graduate. After working in Washington, D.C. as an ag journalist for a couple of years he returned to the Midwest. He joined the staff of Wallaces Farmer magazine in Des Moines in 1976 as a field editor, writing about crops, conservation and farm management topics. He worked his way up to become associate editor, managing editor and eventually editor of the magazine in 2003. Rod retired as editor of Wallaces Farmer at the end of 2020.

Rod was the 10th editor in the history of the magazine, which has roots going back to 1855. It was first published under the name Wallaces Farmer in 1898. Owned by the Wallace family for many years its history goes back to Henry Wallace, the first editor of Wallaces Farmer. He was succeeded by his son Henry C. Wallace. Grandson Henry A. Wallace was the third editor of the magazine. The magazine has always focused on covering Iowa agriculture and providing useful information for Iowa farmers.